Credit where it's due: Horsford continues opposition to a corporate income tax

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said Monday he no longer favors imposing a corporate income tax in Nevada, a sharp turnaround from a year ago when he railed in the Legislature against companies for not "paying their fair share."

"I've gone full circle," Horsford acknowledged in an interview with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Horsford's stated problems with the corporate income tax are that corporate income taxes are extremely volatile and hard to administer.

There is no sensible case for gross receipts taxation. The old turnover taxes--typically adopted as desperation measures in fiscal crisis--were replaced with taxes that created fewer economic problems. They do not belong in any program of tax reform.

Horsford said he would consider a new sales tax on the $100 billion in services sold each year in Nevada.

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce argues the tax could target services relied upon by businesses and individuals with higher incomes, such as accounting and legal services. Depending on how it's structured, a sales tax on services could raise $500 million a year, supporters have said.

While it's great to see Horsford acknowledge the instability of the corporate income tax, taxpayers still need to be on the lookout.

Nevada's leftists still want more of your money. They just aren't telling you how they want to take it yet.

Victor Joecks is executive vice president at the Nevada Policy Research Institute and oversees the execution of NPRI's strategic plan and policy initiatives. These efforts have included NPRI successfully informing voters about the destructive impact of tax increase ballot measure, creating TransparentCalifornia.com, which has received over 40 million page views and running campaigns that have decreased union members by thousands, including expanding that effort into a national coalition of over 100 organizations.